Fisheries flounder

The drought that has ravaged the Southeast for the past year has devastated a 60-year source of income crucial to the Santee Cooper area.

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Lake Drought

Santee Cooper's fishing industry, a boon to the area's economy for the past 60 years, has been devastated by the drought that has ravaged the Southeast in the last year.

When plans for the Santee Cooper lakes were being drawn, fishing and recreation were nowhere to be found. Among the objectives were commercial navigation and the production of electricity.

Not long after lakes Marion and Moultrie were formed by damming the Santee and Cooper rivers, though, fishing enthusiasts discovered that the lakes provided a plethora of fishing opportunities. Striped bass, a species that migrates from saltwater to freshwater to breed, adapted to and became established in their freshwater environment. Fishing for largemouth bass, crappie and bream was extraordinary.

Word spread throughout the country, and soon new "industries" blossomed. Knowledgeable locals began guiding visitors. Fish camps sprang up around the lake, offering places to launch boats, spend the night and enjoy a good meal. For more than 60 years, fishing and tourism have played a vital role in the economy of the communities surrounding the two lakes. Boosted by world record catches and savvy marketing efforts, the Santee Cooper lakes became an established destination for savvy anglers from throughout the country. Professional bass tournaments are regularly held there.

But the drought that has hammered the Southeast since last summer has become an economic disaster for Santee Cooper's fishing industry. Water levels have dropped as much as 10 feet, rendering many of the boat landings that surround the 162,000-acre impoundments unusable. Anglers now can walk a half-mile or more in areas where they previously would have been fully submerged before they find water. That's the lowest the water level has been since the early 1950s.

Efforts to ease the problem are hampered by the fact that Santee Cooper is receiving an average of 2.5 billion gallons of water per day but is required to discharge 2.9 billion gallons daily. Daily water level changes are occurring in agonizing increments that can be measured in hundredths of feet.

Lake Marion, where the average depth is 12 feet, normally encompasses 100,000 acres; currently water covers only about 55,000 acres. Lake Moultrie, normally 62,000 acres with an average depth of 20 feet, now covers 40,000 acres. The drought has exposed or brought closer to the surface many hazards — among them large cypress stumps and the foundations of old houses.

With little access to the water, many visiting anglers have turned elsewhere. The people who own the fish camps and related businesses have had to cut back or lay off employees.

"We don't think it's something that's going to turn around real quickly," says Laura Varn, vice president of corporate communications for Santee Cooper. "We're doing everything we can to mitigate boat landings being open and that sort of thing."

While there are 40 boat landings that are not usable, there are 10 that are fully operational and another 11 in the "launch at your own risk" category.

Caution has always been a watchword for boaters on the Santee Cooper lakes, but it's even more important now. For the anglers willing to take a risk, the fishing can be extremely good, and when the water levels eventually rise to pre-drought levels it is expected to explode.

"The drought definitely impairs water use, but it should be very stimulating to the fish population when the water comes back up," says Scott Lamprecht, a fisheries biologist with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources at the Dennis Wildlife Center in Bonneau. Lamprecht said the low water levels allow for the release of nutrients trapped in the soil and vegetation should flourish.

"Every fish species ought to do well," he said. "Generally, it's a good thing to have a drawdown in these old reservoirs."

Allan Weiss, one of the owners of Black's Camp in Cross, certainly has mixed feelings about the drought. His camp on the upper portion of Lake Moultrie, adjacent to the Diversion Canal, is virtually landlocked. Because the lakes are subject to less dramatic drawdowns each winter, Weiss applied in 2001 for a permit to dredge from his boat ramp. He was able to modify the permit and, with the blessings of Santee Cooper, is dredging a 3,000-foot long, 40-foot wide channel to the Diversion Canal. Weiss said the project's cost is estimated at about $180,000.

"On the positive side, the good Lord has a plan in everything he does," he said. "I wish we all could survive economically where we had another year of drought, where we've got a full year of growth at the bottom of the lake. We'd be back like we were in the '50s. We'd have the phytoplankton, the algae bloom that we don't have anymore."

Ray Sedgwick views the drought from a dual perspective. He's a professional bass fisherman and he owns Canal Lakes Fish Camp on the Diversion Canal. His ramp has been operational throughout most of the drought, but he's also received numerous calls inquiring about the lake levels and had customers cancel their plans.

"Fishing is phenomenal, probably better than when the water is up," said Sedgwick, a regular on the Bassmaster Elite Series. "Whatever the species, they're doing well ... bass, catfish; some of the crappie guides are killing the crappie. But there's the fear of going after them. You have to be so cautious."

Nelson Walker of Manning, a part-time professional bass fisherman and full-time banker, grew up on Lake Marion. He said he has gained a new viewpoint on the lakes because of the drought, seeing things with his eyes instead of looking at them through the perspective of a depth finder.

"A lot of things are completely out of the water," he says. "You can see where all the ledges drop, where the creeks go. Some things look really good and some are not worth a darn. There's no guarantee, but it's a pretty good starting spot. I've had friends out there with GPS's marking everything."

Walker urges boaters to use caution on the lakes, to put in near where they want to fish and to travel at slow speed.

"I'm 44 years old and grew up on Taw Caw Creek. I know all the creeks and most of the ditches that feed the creeks," he said. "At least I thought I knew where most of them were. Now, I realize there are 40 times that many. It's a different ballgame out there right now. You can't go running out there wide-open."

And the potential for danger could translate into more economic losses.

Walker acts in an advisory role to the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce in its efforts to land the big fishing events. He said a recent professional bass tournament at the facility had a direct economic impact of $640,000, a number that undoubtedly is higher today because of the higher cost of gasoline. Anglers and their families and friends stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants, purchase gas for cars and boats and buy miscellaneous bait and tackle.

The John C. Land III public boat ramp on Lake Marion's Taw Caw Creek near Summerton was designed as a facility to host professional bass fishing tournaments. This year between March and May, five major events are scheduled there, including tournaments by BASS and FLW, the two major players in professional bass fishing.

But presently, boat owners are advised to launch there at their own risk because of the low water. A recent visit showed only two of the six ramps are usable. Should any or all of the tournaments have to be cancelled it would be a tremendous financial blow to Clarendon County.

When the lake levels return to normal is anyone's guess. As much as officials at Santee Cooper would love to offer a definitive answer, it all depends on Mother Nature.

Local rains help, but the lakes are dependent on influx from much further up the system. Snow and rain in the mountains of North and South Carolina can positively impact the water level in Lake Moultrie.

There is no magic answer. State climatologists say rainfall needs to return to a more normal pattern.